Baron Praxis
Baron Praxis was one of the main villains in Jak II (although it turns out he was on the good side at the end depending on the players point of view). In the game he's Haven City's tyrannical & corrupt ruler ("Grand Protector"), & eventually meets his end at the hands of the Metal Head Leader, Kor. History Past life Praxis seized the throne of Haven by force during the height of the Metal Head Wars by betraying Damas, who was the rightful ruler of the city as the descendant of Mar, and banishing him to the Wasteland. He had a daughter, Ashelin, who was born in the Haven Palace, suggesting he was of high-rank already before rising to power. At some point before or after becoming the ruler of Haven, the Baron lead a failed assault on the Metal Head Nest which resulted in the loss of much of the right side of his face. Deal with the Metal Heads The Baron ruled Haven City with an iron fist for three years, having the Krimzon Guard, enforcing the injust laws and opening fire at anyone who resisted. When the Metal Heads broke into the city and destroyed a part of the town that later came to be known as "Dead Town", Baron Praxis cut off a "desperate deal" with the Metal Head Leader, Kor, so that the Metal Heads would attack the city just enough to give the people something else to think about than overthrowing him in exchange for Eco. The Dark Warrior program Praxis could not endlessly supply Metal Heads with Eco, so he, likely under influence from Erol began to plot against them by experimenting with Dark Eco to create "Dark Warriors" to use against the Metal Heads. However, the subjects Praxis used in his experiments never survived being exposed to the Dark Eco, but Onin appearantly gave him information about Jak, who was to travel to Haven City from the past, being able to withstand the Dark Eco. When Jak (along with Daxter, Samos and Keira) landed in Haven City, Praxis immediately ordered Erol to arrest him. He treated Jak as an experiment in the Dark Warrior Program for two years, but when the final experiment on Jak was put in place, he was deemed a failure, but did not die. Praxis ordered Erol to execute Jak just before Daxter broke into the Krimzon Guard Fortress and rescued Jak. The hunt for the Precursor Stone With the Dark Warrior Program brought to an end, Praxis brought out a plan to use the lost heir of Mar to locate Mar's tomb, in which the fabled Precursor Stone was said to be hidden. While deceiving the Metal Kor on a secret meeting in the Palace, Praxis noticed Jak and Daxter, who had joined the Underground movement against him, eavesdropping. Praxis ambushed Jak on the Palace roof with a machine, but was defeated and escaped. When Praxis found out about the Underground being close to finding the Precursor Stone, he threated Torn that he would kill his daughter Ashelin for spying unless he sould out the Underground members in the expedition into Mar's Tomb. He then ambushed Jak innside the tomb and stole the Precursor Stone. After fighting Jak yet again, he escaped with the stone. The final plan Praxis then struck a deal with Krew, who was building a Piercer Bomb to crack open the Stone and use the explosion to destroy the Metal Head Nest, without realizing that this would destroy the entire planet. With help from Ashelin, Jak destroyed the Piercer Bomb along with Krew in Praxis's weapons factory. Although the Shield Wall surrounding Haven City was badly damaged, the Baron chose to ignore it, and to assure the people that all was well he offered a month's supply of Eco as the price for the Class One NYFE Racer Race. This cost him his second-in-command Erol, who was supposedly killed when he crashed to the Eco when trying to kill Jak, by running him over with his NYFE Racer. The late crimelord had, however, doublecrossed Praxis and let the Metal-Heads inside the city, ultimately driving Baron Praxis into blowing the Stone with a second Piecer Bomb hidden in the Constructional Site. Jak and Daxter caught up with him, but were interrupted by Kor, who revealed his true form as the Metal Head Leader. Kor demanded the Precursor Stone from Praxis, but he refused and vainly attacked Kor along with a squad of Krimzon Guards. Kor blasted Praxis and his guards away, causing much of the construction site to collapse over him. In his last moments, Praxis revealed the hiding place of the Precursor Stone to Jak, and died. 'Jak 3' Although dead, Baron Praxis appeared in the model viewer explaining things like his need to be neglected on set for being a bad-guy, his anger toward the producers for not using a stunt double for his death scene & his love for the script besides not being resurrected in the sequel. He's also mentioned by Damas about being refuged, & back in Haven City, sometimes Freedom League Guards say that they miss the old Baron, obviously meaning Praxis. His daughter Ashelin becomes the new ruler of Haven City in the third game. Personality Praxis seemed to be mentally unstable & dislikes generally everything. In the propaganda repeating machines in Haven City he often complains & threatens about how lazy the citizens are and how dirty Haven City is. Praxis was very powerhungry & was determined to stay in the throne, even if it means to deal with the enemy. Infact he is so obsessed in power, that he was even willing to sacrifice his own daughter to gain the Precursor Stone, Torn, Jak & Daxter believed he would have done so. He cares little about the feelings of others, treating Jak & Lurkers like lab rats & slaves. In the end he partly admits his defeat, calling Jak a supreme weapon & leaving the task of destroying the Precursor Stone for him. Memorable Quotes: "I will not remembered as the man who lost this city to those vile creatures!" "Patience commander, no-one has ever penetrated the Metal-Head Nest you know that. I've seen what comes of such foolish plans. No, strength is their weakness. We play helpless. We train them to eat from our hands & then..." "The dark powers I gave you can't protect you forever! Since I made you, I can destroy you! We'll meet again soon!" "Fools! You brought me right to the stone. Your pitiful underground friends were no match for my guards above. Now I will finally gain the power I need to crush my enemies! And after claiming the stone I'll begin with you!" "Fool! Don't you get it? It's over Jak. All the heroes died long ago. Only survival remains by what ever means. This city is mine, these lives are mine, this war is mine! And in war people die! Kill him!" "If the city must die, then we all die!" "You are the supreme weapon, Jak. And I made you. Still, any leader worth his salt, always has his back-up plan... Remember, the first rule in making a bomb, is to always make two." Appereance Praxis is a strongly build middle-aged man with a brown beard with a little silver on it. Half of his face seems to be mechanic because he had led an attack on the Metal-Head Nest before betraying Damas. He wears a royal Krimzon Guard uniform & has a sword glowing green of Eco energy. Category:Characters